1. Radon… Why Should I Care?
Brandy Toft
Air Quality Specialist
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
ITEP IAQ Course March 2013

2. What Is Radon?
Radon: odorless, colorless, toxic gas derived from decay of uranium in soil
Form of radiation that attacks lung tissue
# 1 cause of lung cancer among non-smokers
Estimated 21,000 deaths year, rising
Smoking increases your risk 4 times!
Elevated indoor levels found in every state

3. Where Does Radon Come From?
Caused by breakdown of Uranium in earth’s crust. Present in almost all rock, soil, and water
Amount of radon in soil depends on soil chemistry, which varies greatly from one house to next
Moves up through ground into atmosphere, where it can potentially enter your home through cracks/holes in foundation

4. Deliver majority of radiation dose to lungs
Lead-210
Polonium-214
Bismuth-214
Lead-214
Polonium-218
Radon-222
b,g
a,g
Lead-206
Polonium-210
Bismuth-210
22 yrs
4 day
3 min
27 min
20 min
0.2 ms
5 day
138 day
Stable
Radon Decay Products
Po-218 and Po-214
Deliver majority of radiation dose to lungs

5. Could My Home Have Radon?
1 in 15 homes in US are above 4 piC/L.
ALL HOMES SHOULD BE TESTED FOR RADON! Regardless of location, zone, home design or if your neighbor tested.
Are YOU at risk for lung cancer due to high radon levels? TEST YOUR HOME!

6. Houses Suck….
Radon

7. Potential Radon Entry Points

8. Examples of Entry Points
Cracks in concrete slabs
Spaces behind brick veneer walls that rest on uncapped hollow block foundations
Pores and cracks in concrete blocks
Floor-wall joints (cold joints)
Exposed soil (eg., sump or crawl space) 8

9. Examples of Entry Points (cont.)
Weeping (drain) tile, if drained to an open sump
Mortar joints
Loose fitting pipe penetrations
Open tops of block walls
Building materials, such as brick, concrete, rock
Well water

10. Radon: Lung Cancer Causing Gas
Radon decays into radioactive alpha particles; articles are inhaled, deposited in lungs
Causes physical damage to DNA, increasing potential for cancer

11. What Level of Rn is Considered Safe?
No known safe level of radon
9 to 12% of lung cancers are radon induced
EPA recommends homes with radon levels over 4 pCi/L be mitigated
Not a health-based standard
Based on mitigation technology
WHO health based action level pCi/L
Most mitigation systems can get the level of radon down to below 2 pCi/L.
The best way to respond to a carcinogen is to keep peoples exposure as low as possible.

12. Health Effects Radiation is a carcinogen(cancer-causing agent)
Most cancers do not appear until
many years after radiation dose
(~10-40 years)
Radiation may also cause other health effects
links to leukemia, stomach & liver cancer
exposure during pregnancy potential links
Genetic defects in children
Developmental disabilities

13. Health Effects (cont.) 2nd leading cause of lung cancer in US
Estimated to cause 21,000 deaths annually*
Second only to smoking
Leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers
2,900 deaths annually
* EPA Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes (June 2003, EPA -402-R )

14. Prevention and mitigation methods reduce risk
More to come….
Adverse health effects of radon will
increase as more people
Are exposed in tighter homes
Population ages
Medical-related radiation exposure increases
Prevention and mitigation methods reduce risk

15. Comparing Radon Related Cancer to Other Cancer Types
“Stigma” of lung cancer
Lung Cancer (radon)
20000
Liver Cancer
18000
16000
Brain Cancer
14000
Stomach Cancer
12000
Annual U.S. Cancer Deaths
10000
Melanoma
Homicides 18,272; Atherosclerosis 15,279, HIV Infection 13, 426; Alzheimer’s Disease
8000
Oral Cancer
6000
4000
Gallbladder Cancer
2000
Bone Cancer
Source: Bill Field, 2005, UI

16. Radon Compared to Other Risks

17. Chances Of Developing Cancer Due To Radon Depend On…
Levels of radon in home - Dose
Amount of time spent in home - Duration
Pre-Disposition
Smoker
Non-smoker
Previous Smoker
Genetics

18. Radon Level Non Smoker 20 pCi/L 10 pCi/L 8 pCi/L 4 pCi/L 2 pCi/L
If 1,000 people who never smoked were exposed to this level over a lifetime*…
The risk of cancer from radon exposure compares to**…
What to Do:
20 pCi/L
About 36 people could get lung cancer
35 times the risk of drowning
Fix your home
10 pCi/L
About 18 people could get lung cancer
20 times the risk of dying in a home fire
8 pCi/L
About 15 people could get lung cancer
4 times the risk of dying in a fall
4 pCi/L
About 7 people could get lung cancer
The risk of dying in a car crash
2 pCi/L
About 4 people could get lung cancer
The risk of dying from poison
Consider fixing between 2 and 4 pCi/L
1.3 pCi/L
About 2 people could get lung cancer
(Average indoor radon level)
(Reducing radon levels below 2 pCi/L is difficult)
0.4 pCi/L
(Average outdoor radon level) 18

19. Radon Level SMOKERS 20 pCi/L 10 pCi/L 8 pCi/L 4 pCi/L 2 pCi/L
If 1,000 people who smoked were exposed to this level over a lifetime*…
The risk of cancer from radon exposure compares to**…
What to Do:
20 pCi/L
About 260 people could get lung cancer
250 times the risk of drowning
Fix your home
10 pCi/L
About 150 people could get lung cancer
200 times the risk of dying in a home fire
8 pCi/L
About 120 people could get lung cancer
30 times the risk of dying in a fall
4 pCi/L
About 52 people could get lung cancer
5 times the risk of dying in a car crash
2 pCi/L
About 32 people could get lung cancer
5 times the risk of dying from poison
Consider fixing between 2 and 4 pCi/L
1.3 pCi/L
About 20 people could get lung cancer
(Average indoor radon level)
(Reducing radon levels below 2 pCi/L is difficult)
0.4 pCi/L
(Average outdoor radon level)

20. Test, Fix, Save a Life Every home should be tested Testing is easy
No special skills required
Only takes a couple of minutes
It’s inexpensive – especially compared to medical treatment

21. TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST....
Adverse health effects of radon
will increase as more people are
Exposed in homes and work,
Our population ages, and
Increased medical-related radiation exposure

22. Radon on the Rez Need to educate and test!
Located in medium to high zones of radon potential
Started short term testing in 2005
Handed out over 700 tests
0.4 to 44 pCi/L
Crawl spaces (cement and dirt)
Basements
Need to educate and test!

24. Billboard on 371 near Walker

25. Short-Term Fixes….
Sealing cracks and other openings in foundation to limit radon flow into home
House pressurization involves blowing air from upper floors or outside into lowest level of house (typically basement) to prevent radon from entering house

26. Short-Term Fixes…. (cont.)
Natural ventilation reduces radon levels by mixing radon with outside air
Typically a temporary measure due to increased heating/ cooling costs
Heat-recovery ventilator (HRV or air-to-air heat exchanger) can increase ventilation.
Increases heating/cooling costs, too, but not as much as natural ventilation

27. Long-Term Fixes For houses with basement or slab-on-grade
Subslab suction (or sub-slab depressurization) is most common method.
Pipes inserted through floor slab or below slab from outside house into crushed rock or soil underneath
Fan connected to pipes draws radon from below house, released into outdoor air
Drain tile suction
can be used in houses where perforated drain pipes installed to direct water from foundation, but only when tiles form complete loop around foundation

28. Long Term Fixes (cont.)
Sump hole suction can be used in houses with basements and sump pumps.
Sump can be capped, can continue to drain water and also serve as location for radon suction pipe
Block wall suction can be used to remove radon from hollow spaces in basement concrete block walls
For houses with crawl spaces
Passive ventilation (without fan), or active(with fan)
Submembrane depressurization: covering earth floor with heavy plastic sheet, using vent pipe and fan to draw radon from under sheet

29. Don’t leave me hanging….
Test, test, test….what does it lead to?
Tons of funds to identify problem…
Where is money to fix problem?
Many don’t have funds to fix themselves
Have to be very creative to get mitigation $
How do we get it incorporated in with HUD?
How do we get it incorporated into Housing?

30. Leech Lake Mitigations
Three main types
Sub floor subduction
Sump pump
Radon barrier
Building
capacity through training

31. 2007 Radon Mitigation
24 to 2.5 PiC/L

32. Hands on Training 2009

33. 18 to 1.2 piC/L

34. Typical pre 2010 crawlspace

35. Sometimes gone wrong….

36. Fixed

37. BUT best laid plans….

38. Radon Resistant New Construction
New homes can be built to be radon-resistant
Minimize radon entry routes
Allow for easier remediation of problems that may occur later
Costs less if installed during construction (estimated $350 – $500 to cost of new home compared to $800 – $2,500 to retrofit existing home)

39. Radon-Resistant New Consruction
Three categories
Sealing entry routes: basic element in radon mitigation
Similar to controlling moisture and for energy conservation.
Vapor barriers, caulks, foams can seal radon entry routes in foundation and floor areas.
Soil ventilation systems: soil depressurization or sub-slab depressurization systems.
Create suction on soil so radon is removed as soil gas before entering house.
Some of these systems use fans (active systems) and some do not (passive systems)

40. RRNC (cont.) Mechanical house ventilation systems
Designed to provide extra outside air dilution or to maintain higher pressure inside building relative to outside, preventing radon from entering

41. Basic elements of radon-resistant features
Gas Permeable Layer – Layer placed beneath slab or flooring system to allow soil gas to move freely underneath house. In many cases, material used is 4-inch layer of clean gravel
Plastic Sheeting - Placed on top of gas- permeable layer and under slab to help prevent soil gas from entering home. In crawlspaces, sheeting placed over crawlspace floor
Sealing and Caulking - All openings in concrete foundation floor sealed to reduce soil gas entry
Vent Pipe or 4-inch gas-tight or PVC pipe (commonly used for plumbing) runs from gas-permeable layer through house to roof to safely vent radon and other soil gases
Junction Box – Electrical junction box installed in case electric venting fan is needed later

43. Leech Lake Radon Mitigations
Radon Barrier Membrane
Sump Pump – drain tile
Sub floor subductions
active and passive systems
RRNC

44. A Lung Cancer Victim Speaks Dennie Edwards, Elyria, OH, www.cansar.org
“In 2004, I had a very bad cold, so my doctor performed a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia. I've never smoked, so you can imagine how shocked I was that he found a 4.5 centimeter mass in my left lung.
“Even though I've been a real estate agent for 31 years, I had never bothered to test my house for radon. I always informed my clients that radon testing prior to purchase was an option (to protect my liability), but truthfully, I really didn't care if they tested or not.
“Now I had to wonder whether my lung cancer had been caused by radon exposure. While the doctor scheduled my surgery, I scheduled a radon test. The result was 10 pCi/l, (2 ½ times the EPA's Action Level). I had lived in the home for 12 years. Needless to say, I called a contractor to have a mitigation system installed.
“Two days later I had surgery. I thought I was surely going to die. When I woke up choking with tubes in my throat, panic set in. They had removed my entire left lung. I'm getting better. I can walk up to a mile. But, I can no longer dance, lift things, or exert myself.
“My clients now get a very personal testimonial about the importance of testing for radon."

45. Brandy Toft Air Quality Specialist Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe